U-Va.'s Long Is 1st Pick of Day, 2nd of Brisk Proceedings

Chris Long at least will go to St. Louis with some experience being in an NFL locker room, even if that experience dates back to his childhood.

"Yeah, I've been in NFL locker rooms," he said. But "they were Raider locker rooms, so I guess that means they were a little different."

Best of all, both father and son had survived the whirlwind of the draft process. "I don't even know what day it is," Chris Long said.

The Falcons could have taken Dorsey with the third pick. Some NFL teams were wary that Ryan threw 19 interceptions last season at Boston College. But he also threw 31 touchdown passes last season and had a 25-7 career record as a starter in college, and the Falcons gave themselves a potential franchise quarterback to replace Michael Vick.

"I thought they would consider taking me, and I'm happy they did," Ryan said. "You never know what's going to happen going through the process. I was really happy to get that phone call."

With Vick serving a 23-month federal prison sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation and on indefinite suspension by the NFL, Ryan perhaps could quickly move ahead of holdover quarterbacks Joey Harrington and Chris Redman to become the starter in Atlanta. He also could become the face of the embattled franchise.

"I can't worry about it," Ryan said. "I just have to go down there and make sure I'm doing everything I can to succeed."

Arkansas tailback Darren McFadden went fourth to the Raiders, giving them a potentially dynamic young runner to go with developing quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the top overall selection in last year's draft. McFadden said he began the day figuring he would go fourth to the Raiders or sixth to the New York Jets.

"Going number four, it's a great feeling," McFadden said. "There's no disappointment. . . . They said they're looking for a big playmaker in their offense, and hopefully that's what I can give them. . . . With two young guys in the backfield, it'll be a great thing."

McFadden has said he thinks he can duplicate the exploits of Adrian Peterson, the tailback who was the seventh overall choice in last year's draft and had a dominating rookie season for the Minnesota Vikings. McFadden had spent the pre-draft process answering teams' concerns about character issues, some arising from an incident in January in which he was handcuffed by police after a disturbance at a Little Rock piano bar but released without any charges.

"It was a long, grueling process," McFadden said Saturday. "You have to go through it. I'm just very happy that it's over now."

Dorsey stayed in the top five, going fifth to Kansas City with the first of the Chiefs' two first-round picks. They also got Virginia guard Branden Albert, projected as a left tackle in the NFL, with the 15th choice.

"I told myself I wasn't gonna cry," Dorsey said. "But the tears just start coming. You can't control that. . . . I'm just excited to get to Kansas City and get to work. . . . I feel like the best player, just like everybody else feels like the best player. I didn't come here with any expectations. It's tricky. Nobody can predict it."